Leafs Prospect Update – December 1

When a player makes the adjustment to the smaller ice, the rougher game, and the tougher competition, you expect there’s going to be something of a learning curve. If the last two games are any indication, the Leafs‘ 5th rounder out of Switzerland is starting to put things together.

If you’re looking to judge a CHL prospect that you haven’t seen by their stats, I’m a proponent of looking at their point shares relative to the rest of their team. Comparing a London Knight to a Moose Jaw Warrior with no regard for the difference in the numbers those teams put up doesn’t make a lot of sense. Well, Herzog has notched 3 goals in his last 2 games and his Ramparts have only managed a total of 5 goals during that time. In fact, Herzog has scored 18 of Quebec’s 98 goals on the year, putting him second in team scoring.

In the OHL, not much has changed among Leafs prospects. Connor Brown is still setting the pace for OHL scorers with 55 points in 28 games. Carter Verhaeghe is falling off the pace a bit but still sits 8th in the OHL with 43 points and picked up a goal in the lone game he played in the Subway Super Series against the Russian Selects. Among defensemen, Matt Finn is fourth in OHL scoring at just under a point-per-game (25 in 26).

Reminder: It’s the first day of December and the World Juniors are just around the corner.

Curt writes prospect stuff here, writes Leafs-related content at Blue Chip Prospects, and writes whatever he wants (with a 140 character limit) on Twitter. He also prefers being called 'Curt' to 'BCP' as he is not a robot, but he'll answer to either.